Remote controlled deadness board for croquet

Abstract

A deadness board apparatus remotely displays the "dead" status of each player in the game of croquet with respect to each other's player or color. The system includes a "dead" scoreboard with colored panels for ball colors and a light in each panel. The "on" or "off" status of the colored panels indicates "dead" or "alive" status of a player with respect to each of the three other colors. The lights are controlled by relays which are in turn controlled remotely by radio signals from transmitters which can be carried by each player. Each transmitter may additionally include a control button for increasing the player's (or team's ) score when his ball is hit through a wicket.

I claim: 
     
       1. A remote controlled deadness board apparatus for croquet, for enabling each player in the game to adjust the displayed status of the player with respect to each of the other three players' balls, comprising: a deadness board having four separate status display means, one for each playr, for indicating the status of each player, by color, as dead or alive with rspect to each of the other three colors,   a series of four separate hand-held remote control devices carriable by and operable by the players, each having three color-coordinated switch buttons for controlling deadness board-displayed status of a player with respect to each of the other three players,   electrical circuit means at the deadness board for adjusting the displayed deadness status of the status display means for each player,   radio signal control means associated with each hand-held remote control device and with the deadness board and the electrical circuit means, for adjusting the displayed deadness status of each color of a status display means on the deadness board whenever a switch button of a color corresponding to a color of that status display means is pushed on a hand-held remote control device associated with that status display means.   
     
     
       2. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein each hand-held remote control device includes a fourth button, with the radio signal control means of the deadness board and the hand-held device including associated control means for shifting the deadness board-displayed status of the player associated with that hand-held remote control device to alive status with respect to all of the other three colors when the fourth button is pushed. 
     
     
       3. The apparatus according to claim 2, wherein the deadness board includes a wicket count score display, and wherein said associated means includes means for increasing the wicket count score display for a player when the fourth button of that player is pushed. 
     
     
       4. The apparatus according to claim 1, wherein the radio signal control means includes associated means for shifting the position of a status display means in one direction with one push of an associated button switch on a hand-held remote control device, and for shifting the position of the dead status display means in the opposite direction with a succeeding push of the same button. 
     
     
       5. A remotely controlled deadness board for croquet, for displaying the dead or alive status of each player with respect to each of the other players' colors, comprising, a display board with the colors blue, black, red and yellow in a series of player color blocks aligned with deadness display areas for each of the blue, black, red and yellow players,   in each deadness display area on the deadness board, a series of three color indications in the colors of the three players other than the player whose deadness status is being indicated in that display area,   at each color indication in each player's deadness display area, a lamp bright enough to be easily seen in daylight, and lamp switching means associated with the deadness board for selectively switching each lamp on or off,   a series of hand held remote control devices, one for each croquet player, each being designated for a particular player by color and each having a series of three control buttons identified by the colors of the other three players, each being for the control of the displayed deadness status indicator lamp for the color of one of the other players,   radio transmitter means associated with each of the hand held remote control devices, for sending a particular signal when each button is pushed, the signal being dedicated to control of one of the twelve lamps on the deadness board, and   radio receiver means associated with the deadness board and connected to said lamp switching means, for receiving the particular signals from the remote control means and for sending an appropriate control signal to the lamp switching means for control of the particular lamp to which the transmitted signal is dedicated.   
     
     
       6. The deadness board apparatus of claim 5, wherein each hand held remote control device further includes a wicket count button for transmitting a signal for control of a wicket count score displayed on the deadness board, and wherein the radio receiver means associated with the deadness board includes means for switching off all deadness indicator lamps in a player's deadness display area when the wicket count button for that player is pushed.